The co-founder of the modern day Tea Party political protests has slammed imitators of the concept, referring to them as “partisan political perverts”.

Constitutionalist grass roots activist Chad Peace was part of the original team of people who organised Boston Tea Party re-enactment protests in 50 different cities in late 2007, in support of Congressman Ron Paul’s presidential campaign.

The protests became extremely popular, and continued throughout 2008 and into 2009, prompting thousands of people to engage in peaceful political protest.

Chad Peace says he was proud to be a part of a movement calling for government accountability, honesty, respect, and sincerity, but he now reveals his disgust at what he sees as a hijacking of the Tea Party concept by “golden idols”.

“I was convinced that the average American was beginning to see through the veil of scripted partisan sermons, designed to coddle fears and perpetuate the superficial battle between a “left” and “right”.” Peace writes in a commentary article[3].

However, Peace states that over the course of the last year, the Tea Party movement has been co-opted.

“In short time, desperate partisans were soiling the sheets.” Peace writes.

“At some point, reality began piercing my passion. The tea party boat started becoming a wagon of whiners. Propelled by the moving mouths on TV and the talking heads of such ironically named organizations such as the “American Family Association”… the movement lost its focus.” he continues.

“A movement founded on the principles of independent analysis, it has become a yelling fest for punch-drunk cynics armed with incoherent talking points.”

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Revelations of staged Tea Party protests[6] organised by Fox News and Glenn Beck have served to frame the concept within a strictly mainline conservative political focus. Not only that but they have provided the left leaning media mouthpieces with ammunition to attack and ridicule[7] what started out as a legitimate grassroots activist success story.

The common conception of the Tea Party protest now languishes a far cry from it’s Libertarian begininngs.

“What I see is a bunch of people reciting partisan political sermons, coddling fears, and perpetuating a superficial battle between “left” and “right”; drowning the well intentioned idealists that remain.” Chad Peace writes.

However, Peace does believe that the movement can be taken back and still act as a force for political change.

“As the battle rages, I have more faith than ever that an independent revolution will come. When the absurdity of our political process rises to the point where tea bags become a right wing rally cry and the left still manages to drop in the polls, there is a growing opportunity for the increasingly disenchanted to drive a stake right down the middle.”[4]